1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of construction equipment, and more specifically, to a construction bucket that can be used with skid loaders, backhoes, mini payloaders, compact farm tractors, and any other piece of construction or agricultural equipment in which a bucket is used to perform grading and/or digging. The construction bucket can also be used as a grapple attachment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of innovations have been developed relating to construction buckets and/or attachments for use therewith, but none of these devices incorporates the features and advantages of the present invention. Several examples of existing devices are discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,542 (DePlazes, 1989) involves an attachment for a box-scraper. The attachment comprises a flat, elongate plate with one or two flanges that is situated directly behind the scraper blade of the box-scraper. The flat plate bears on the ground and facilitates leveling of the ground. The device is designed so that the attachment self-aligns to the leading edge of the scraper blade when the tractor is in motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,625 (Keigley, 1996) describes a rake attachment for use on a skid steer. The rake attachment comprises an elongated tined or toothed rake blade connected to a frame. The frame of the rake attachment is attached to the skid steer via a mounting saddle. The rake attachment does not extend and retract as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,385 (Knutson, 2001) describes a rock and material loading system comprising a shaft with a plurality of teeth that are used to lift rocks and similar materials into a loader bucket. The teeth are preferably tapered and have narrow ends at their distal portions (like a fork). To operate the invention, the user approaches a rock with the teeth in a horizontal position and moves the tractor (or similar equipment) forward until the rock is elevated upon the teeth. The user then actuates hydraulics that cause the teeth to rotate upward, dumping the rock into the bucket.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,357,993 (Burton, 2002) and 6,589,007 (Burton, 2003) disclose a ski-steer loader implement or bucket with a hydraulically actuated grapple component. In one embodiment, the grapple component is comprised of a plurality of forwardly and downwardly curbed hooks interconnected by lateral cross bars. In an alternate embodiment, the grapple component is comprised of a pair of hydraulically actuated grapple tooth components. Neither of these embodiments incorporates a forward extension feature.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,678 (Waddington, Jr., 2003) provides an improved grapple bucket with two “demo-dozer” attachments, each of which comprises an upper plate and a lower plate. The upper plates are welded to the forks of a standard grapple bucket. Each demo-dozer attachment can be operated independently of the other. The main function of the demo-dozer attachments is to provide added surface area across the entire lip of the bucket, thereby allowing the grapple bucket to hold small objects in addition to large ones. With the grapples fully closed, the demo-dozer attachments can be used to move earth, clear debris, or make a shallow cut in the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,324 (Ihm, 2003) involves a hydraulic system for extending and retracting frontal accessories to loading buckets. A hydraulic cylinder is located centrally within the loading bucket and oriented parallel with the front edge of the loading bucket (i.e., extending left to right). This hydraulic cylinder extends and retracts the front accessories (e.g., spears or a scraper) via an intermediate linkage system located just behind the frontal accessory. The intermediate linkage system is connected to a fixed frame that is also parallel to the front edge of the loading bucket. The fixed frame is located within the loading bucket itself and attached to the bottom of the bucket. An overlying cover is preferably placed on top of the fixed frame and intermediate linkage system to keep the load separate from the invention's parts. Because the fixed frame, intermediate linkage system and hydraulic cylinder are all located within the bucket, the capacity of the bucket is greatly diminished.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,662 (Schaff, 2004) provides yet another rake-tooth bucket extension attachment in which a plurality of teeth are supported by a frame that attaches to the bucket of a front end loader. The rake attachment is fixed in relation to the bucket.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,086 (Stevens 2005) discloses a “skimmer” used to separate the top layer of soil to a desired depth and then remove it. The skimmer comprises a shearing blade and a pushing blade. The shearing blade has front and rear cutting edges and can be raised and lowered, as desired, for purposes of removing a top layer of soil. The pushing blade is positioned in front of the shearing blade and is used to push the sheared soil layer off the new surface, clearing it for further landscaping operations. When the pushing blade is in an operational position, the shearing blade is in a non-operational position, and vice versa.